Bunny Hanley lived the early years of her life on a Montana cattle and sheep ranch. Life's early experiences included a two room schoolhouse with an outdoor playground nestled in the Crazy Mountains. As a twin in a family of eight children, inspirations constantly surrounded her through the interactions of children, ranch animals and wildlife. Her work reflects a sense of movement and emotion inspired by these childhood memories and life experiences.
Art has always been a part of her life, as there are many artists within her family. Her love of horses and wildlife have moved her to the three dimensional medium of sculpture. There she can express her emotion by capturing the beauty and mystique of animals in motion and the very special connection between women and horses.
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My work reflects my experiences as a young girl growing up on our cattle ranch. My sculptures are reflective of living on a large playground and tell a story of having a personal relationship with nature and the beauty that surrounded me. My distinct memories and dreams from childhood were magical to me everyday and those mental images continue to contribute to my creativity.
Even though I have a great love of giraffes, I was moved to sculpt these strange and gentle giants because of my mother’s love of giraffes. Ever since I can remember, my mother loved to visit zoos just to see and feed the giraffes. It saddens me that my mother died before seeing the sculpture that I dedicated to her.
Giraffes are creatures unlike any other on earth. Once they were considered a cross between a leopard and a camel. They are a delicate animal despite their great size and power. Giraffes are the tallest of all land mammals with a very independent behavior, and yet they are aloof and self reliant.
"Graceful Giants" portrays the gentle bouts between two young males "necking" with gentle dignity to determine who has the greater strength. Giraffes roam the grasslands in a graceful dance, living in calmness and beauty, pursuing one of nature’s most independent ways of life.
www.BunnyHanley.com